Is it time to go back to old fashioned methods to tackle obesity?

Published:06:59Saturday 02 June 2012

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LIKE every one else, I have been enjoying the good weather recently and looking forward to far more of it to come. Naturally I would like it to gently rain from, say midnight to 5am every day but you can’t have everything.

So far my small garden hasn’t suffered and my water barrels are coping so I am looking forward to a good crop of vegetables this year.

Talking of food, I was astounded to learn that the NHS spends some £4.2billion a year on treating obesity.

That is as astonishing amount of money in anyone’s language but given that a great deal of it could be saved by educating people about their health, it’s a bit obscene really.

Recently it has been reported that it took 40 people, among them medics, policeman and firemen, to move to hospital a teenage girl who had not moved from her bed for some six months.

Naturally there are people who have genuine problems with their weight but there do appear to be many, many more who could be helped through good parenting and education.

So our Jamie Oliver is trying to do the right thing by the younger generation through preaching grow your own and eat sensibly.

I do not apologise for suggesting that my generation were very lucky to be presented (by and large) with fruit and vegetables grown and sold locally and in season.

Girls (mums to be) where also taught cookery and home economics while boys (dads to be) where taught woodwork and metalwork and both sexes were given plenty of physical education.

My school managed four sessions of PE per week as well one afternoon of games a week for boys and girls. Yes it’s old fashioned and yes, I am a dinosaur – so what?

The nation expects to sit back and applaud our athletes take part in the Olympics this summer and no doubt ‘barbies’, beer, beef burgers, crisps etc will all be on hand so that we can celebrate a small section of our countries youth achieve the best they can while the rest of us grow fatter!